First of all… ahem… IT’S THE START OF THE FILM AWARDS FANTASY SEASON! OMG IT’S ACTUALLY HERE AND TEAMS HAVE POINTS AND OCTOBER IS SO FREAKING AWESOME BECAUSE IT’S THE START OF THE FILM AWARDS FANTASY SEASON!

Okay, got that out of my system, so let’s get serious for a moment and look at the Gotham Awards nominations to see what stands out. There is a disclaimer, though. I NEVER look at what or whom got snubbed. The Gothams are determined by a jury, and any jury will want to recognize some film or some actor or writer or whomever. There is a limited number of spots, so anything that misses here, I’m paying little attention to. Why didn’t La bola negra get more recognition than a new-this-year Audience Award nomination? I don’t know, and I don’t care. It’s still going to get a lot of points.

Andrew Scott Got an Outstanding Lead Performance Nomination

Whew! The pre-season rankings having Andrew Scott as high as he is left many scratching their heads. I’ve said myself that he’s the biggest boom-or-bust candidate in the first three rounds. I saw some leagues wait until the fifth round before pulling the trigger on him. Well, he got a Gotham nomination, so consider the first test passed. You know how I said that I pay little attention to snubs? If he had been snubbed, I would have paid attention I’m also paying a little attention to the fact that Scott was the only recognition for Elsinore. So if this is passing the first test out of the gate, I think Elsinore is going to have to generate much more buzz this season for him to live up to his pre-season ranking.

Along with Andrew Scott, other Oscar hopefuls got a nomination in Outstanding Lead Performance, including the favorites for Best Actor and Best Actress: John Malkovich (Wild Horse Nine) and Julianne Moore (The Debut). 

Supporting Performances All Over the Place

No one should look at the Gothams for any kind of clarity on ANY Oscar race, let alone the Supporting Actor/Actress race. Paul Giamatti is still the frontrunner and was snubbed. (I’m REALLY trying not to pay attention to snubs, I swear!…) And if Anne Hathaway is really the frontrunner in Best Supporting Actress, it’s not like the Gothams are going to recognize The Odyssey. However, there are some familiar names here both in terms of pedigree and in current buzz.

Penélope Cruz got points for The Invite, which is a good sign for Cruz owners because she also has credits for La bola negra and Bunker. She seems safe to get a nomination or two at most ceremonies, but considering that her more buzzy roles are in the Best Supporting category, she shouldn’t be labeled a dual-threat just yet. Her floor is quite high, though.

Everyone else who got a nomination, except for maybe Tom Courtenay (Queen at Sea), could turn into a popular waiver add because of how wide open these races have become. Any of them could find themselves in the so-called fourth or fifth slot at any number of critics organizations and no one will bat an eye at their inclusion over someone else. That certainly caps their ceiling, but most of these actors and actresses really seem to have a high floor with low ceiling potential. So if you whiffed in the draft for your ACTR or ACTRS slot, there should be plenty of replacements that will get you similar points. I would not be surprised if the difference in points between the 8th- and the 15th-ranked ACTR or ACTRS is minuscule. That just means active managers will be rewarded if they can time their waiver adds to match the ebb and flow of all these supporting performances!

Skyler Gisondo

To start, I’m a Skyler Gisondo fan and was thrilled to see him in Primetime. Afterward, I was thinking (hoping?) that he would get some recognition for his role as Decoy Dan. Now he’s a Gotham nominee. Most years, there is one so-called “breakthrough” actor or actress who lights up the regional critics awards with unexpected wins to go along with their nominations. The clearest example is Charles Melton a couple of years ago for his role in May December. That year, he went mostly undrafted. I can see a similar arc happening for Gisondo. If you have room on your roster, it’s not a bad idea to go out and get him now. However, we’re literally only one ceremony deep into the season. Trying to find the next Charles Melton is quite difficult. But I will say this: The Gotham jury has heavy representation from film critics along with other industry leaders. Does that mean we will have an unexpected Gisondo ascension? Too early to tell, but wouldn’t you rather make the move now in case it turns out to be true?

If You Own One of These Three Docs, Congratulations

I’m talking about You Can See Everything, NAZA, and Once Upon a Time in Harlem. Yes, there are other docs out there (American Doctor, 14th, etc.) that will get points and be just fine if you also missed the boat on an ANI or INT film. However, these three will be set-it-and-forget-it players throughout the season. Obviously You Can See Everything is going to be a regular-season juggernaut that could extend to the post-season. However, NAZA and Once Upon a Time in Harlem might be the documentaries that will surge at the right time. All three of these figure to be in every ceremony that tabs nominations. (I still think that it’s more likely for You Can See Everything to be nominated for an Oscar Best Picture without an accompanying Best Documentary Feature nomination than vice versa.) At any rate, these three will get you good points. 

Sidenote, Critics Choice Documentary Awards nomination leader, 14th, seemed to suffer a minor injury because any headline that says “…Defends the Use of AI…” can’t be good for its fantasy points prospects. How fun would it be to add IR slots to RCR? I kid, of course, (or do I?)

Debut Director Points

We all knew that Jordan Firstman (Club Kid) is a strong candidate to lead all debut directors in fantasy points. And although Curry Barker (Obsession) didn’t get a nomination (again, I’m REALLY trying not to pay attention to snubs), his EDIT eligibility makes him a strong candidate to also be highly ranked as a debut director. But nominations usually come in fives, so somebody has to get those points. If I want to get on the debut train to start chasing those points, three Gotham nominees are as good as any others. In order, they are Aleshea Harris (Is God Is), John Early (Maddie’s Secret), and Marine Atlan (La Gradiva). 

Best Director Is a New Category

It’s generally a good rule of thumb that at any ceremony, the Best Director nominees point to who will eventually win Best Picture. And if an international director gets a lone nomination, it doesn’t take a genius to label that director’s film as the favorite to win Best International Feature. Well, instead of a lone international director, FOUR of the five directors are from films that are in the Best International Feature category and ONE in the Best Feature category. The lone Best Director nominee with a film in Best Picture is Jane Schoenbrun (Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma). That film also got a nomination for Gillian Anderson in Outstanding Lead Performance. With other buzzy nominees such as The Invite, The Debut, Club Kid, and even Primetime, a win for Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma will shake things up and put Schoenbrun and the film and maybe even Gillian Anderson firmly in popular waiver request territory. Long live Little Death!

Who knows what will happen with the Best International category though…

Guitarricadelafuente

He got a breakthrough acting nomination, and he’ll get plenty of those. The fact that he’s the film’s ONLY jury recognized nomination (La bola negra DID get an Audience Award nomination) doesn’t give me the warm fuzzies for a film that is supposedly the best contender to unseat The Odyssey as the eventual Best Picture Oscar winner and the best contender to finally give Netflix its long coveted Best Picture win. I SWEAR I’m not looking at Gotham snubs!

Well, those are all my reactions. I’ll be posting waiver wire advice as we get closer to Matchup #2. We have until December for that to happen, so in the meantime, enjoy the post-draft, early-season hype and go see some movies! Wicker is pretty fun!